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DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR 
GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


OF 


"LOUISIANA" 
D  THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE 


BY 


FRANK  BOND 

Chief  Clerk  General  Land  Office 


WITH  A  STATEMENT  OF  OTHER 
ACQUISITIONS 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1912 


DEPARTMENT  OF  THE   INTERIOR 
GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


OF 


"LOUISIANA" 
AND  THE  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE 


BY 

FRANK  BOND 

Chief  Clerk  General  Land  Office 


WITH  A  STATEMENT  OF  OTHER 
ACQUISITIONS 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1912 


This  publication  may  be  purchased  from  the  Superintendent  of 
Documents,  Government  Printing  Office,  Washington,  D.  C.,  for 
10  cents. 


£333 
TiSS 


LOUISIANA  PURCHASE  PROGRESS  MAPS  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 


INTRODUCTION. 

A  series  of  five  maps  of  the  United  States  showing  the  original  Lou- 
isiana  and  the  changes  in  its  boundary  during  the  137  years  between 
1682,  the  date  of  La  Salle's  discovery,  and  1819,  the  date  of  the 
purchase  of  Florida,  formed  an  interesting  part  of  the  exhibit  of  the 
General  Land  Office  at  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  held  at 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  1904.  Differences  of  opinion  have  prevailed  as  to 
the  extent  of  Louisiana  as  purchased  from  France.  It  is  believed 
that  these  are  due,  first,  to  a  misconception  of  the  scope  of  La  SahVs 
discovery  and  proclamation,  and,  second,  to  a  misunderstanding  of 
the  real  significance  of  the  political  acts  of  the  United  States,  between 
1803  and  1819,  affecting  that  part  of  La  Salle's  Louisiana  which 
extended  along  the  Gulf  coast  east  of  the  Mississippi  River.  It  is 
submitted,  as  to  the  former,  that  the  "  Louisiana  Purchase"  of  1803 
did  not  include  territory  beyond  the  limits  of  the  original  Louisiana, 
and,  as  to  the  latter,  that  all  Spanish  doubts  as  to  ownership  were 
resolved  and  permanently  settled  by  the  political  acts  of  the  United 
States  following  the  purchase  from  France,  but  antedating  the 
purchase  of  Florida  from  Spain.  It  is  believed,  also,  that  a  true 
picture  of  the  extent  and  location  of  La  Salle's  Louisiana  is  shown  upon 
map  No.  1.  This  picture  greatly  assists  one  to  understand  the 
phrase  "the  whole  of  Louisiana"  which  was  used  in  subsequent 
treaties  of  cession. 

In  the  brief  discussion  of  each  map  which  follows  no  effort  has 
been  made  to  harmonize  the  conflicting  views  held  and  heretofore 
published  by  numerous  writers  upon  the  subject  of  Louisiana  or  the 
"Louisiana  Purchase."  These  views  are  as  diverse  as  their  author 
ship  is  numerous.  This  is  not  surprising  when  it  is  understood  that 
the  common  effort  has  been  aimed  at  solving  the  questions  of  terri 
torial  limits  of  Louisiana,  as  this  province  passed  from  one  State  to 
another,  without  first  attempting  to  fix  the  original  limits  of  the 
territory  thus  transferred.  To  this  fact,  probably,  more  than  any 
other,  may  the  failure  to  reach  a  common  conclusion  be  attributed. 

4300S0— 12  3 


4  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE  PROGRESS   MAPS. 

TERRITORY   OF  LOUISIANA,  1682-1762  (MAP  NO.  1). 

The  greater  colored  area  shown  upon  this  map  is  based  upon  the 
discoveries  of  La  Salle  and  his  proclamation  made  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  River  on  April  9,  1682.  This  proclamation  was  made  in 
the  presence  of  the  entire  party,  under  arms,  who  chanted  the  Te 
Deum,  the  Exaudiat,  and  the  Domine  salvum  fac  Regem.  After  a 
salute  of  firearms  and  cries  of  "Vive  le  Roi,"  La  Salle  erected  a  col 
umn,  and  while  standing  near  it  said  in  a  loud  voice : 

In  the  name  of  the  most  high,  mighty,  invincible,  and  victorious  prince,  Louis  the 
Great,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  France  and  of  Navarre,  fourteenth  of  that  name, 
this  ninth  day  of  April,  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-two,  I,  in  virtue  of  the 
commission  of  His  Majesty  which  I  hold  in  my  hand,  and  which  may  be  seen  by  all 
whom  it  may  concern,  have  taken,  and  do  now  take,  in  the  name  of  His  Majesty  and 
of  his  successors  to  the  crown,  possession  of  this  country  of  Louisiana,  the  seas,  harbors, 
ports,  bays,  adjacent  straits,  and  all  the  nations,  people,  provinces,  cities,  towns, 
villages,  mines,  minerals,  fisheries,  streams,  and  rivers  comprised  in  the  extent  of  said 
Louisiana,  from  the  mouth  of  the  great  river  St.  Louis  on  the  eastern  side,  otherwise 
called  Ohio,  Aligin,  Sipore,  or  Chukagona,  and  this  with  the  consent  of  the  Chaonanons, 
Chickachas,  and  other  people  dwelling  therein,  with  whom  we  have  made  alliance; 
as  also  along  the  river  Colbert,  or  Mississippi,  and  rivers  which  discharge  themselves 
therein,  from  its  source,  beyond  the  country  of  the  Kious  or  Nadoucessions,  and  this 
with  their  consent,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Motantes,  Illinois,  Mesiganeas,  Natches, 
Koroas,  which  are  the  most  considerable  nations  dwelling  therein,  with  whom  also  we 
have  made  alliance,  either  by  ourselves  or  by  others  in  our  behalf,  as  far  as  its  mouth. 
by  the  sea,  or  Gulf  of  Mexico,  about  the  twenty-seventh  degree  of  the  elevation  of  the 
North  Pole  and  also  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  Palms;  upon  the  assurance  which  we 
have  received  from  all  these  nations  that  we  are  the  first  Europeans  who  have  descended 
or  ascended  the  said  river  Colbert;  hereby  protesting  against  all  who  may  in  future 
undertake  to  invade  any  or  all  of  these  countries,  people,  or  lands,  above  described,  to 
the  prejudice  of  the  rights  of  His  Majesty,  acquired  by  the  consent-  of  the  nations  herein 
named.  Of  which,  and  all  that  can  be  needed,  I  hereby  take  to  witness  those  who 
hear  me  and  demand  an  act  of  the  notary  as  required  by  law.1 

Title  to  French  territory  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  along  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  was  based  upon  this  voyage  and  proclamation  of 
La  Salle.  These  acts  of  La  Salle  were,  in  fact,  the  foundation  of 
French  ownership,  and  have  been  so  considered  by  all  nations  since 
1682.  The  Louisiana  thus  claimed  embraced  two  areas  of  contigu 
ous  territory — first,  the  territory  drained  by  the  Mississippi  River, 
with  all  of  its  tributaries,  and  second,  the  territory  between  the 
Mississippi  River  and  the  River  Palms.  The  wording  of  the  proc 
lamation  is  simple  and  direct,  and  its  meaning  seems  incapable  of 
distortion  or  of  being  misunderstood.  It  appears  evident  that  La 
Salle  had  no  information  of  territory  beyond  the  sources  of  the  Mis- 

1  This  translation  of  La  Salle's  proclamation  is  taken  from  Spark's  Life  of  La  Salle,  published  at  Boston, 
Mass.,  1844.  Francis  Parkman's  translation  of  the  proclamation,  in  his  "Discovery  of  the  Great  West," 
1869 (Boston:  Little,  Brown  &  Co.),  agrees  with  the  above,  Except  that  he  omitted  the  names  of  the  treaty 
tribes,  but  refers  to  such  omissions  in  a  footnote,  pp.  282,  283,  and  says: "  A  copy  of  the  original  of  the  Proces 
Verbal  (the  proclamation)  is  before  me.  It  bears  the  name  of  Jacques  de  la  Metairie,  notary  of  Frontenac, 
who  was  one  of  the  party."  Translations,  in  whole  or  in  part,  of  the  proclamation  of  La  Salle,  by  numerous 
other  authors  have  been  examined  by  the  writer,  but  in  no  essential  particular  did  any  of  these  transla 
tions  differ  from  those  of  Sparks  or  Parkman  quoted  or  referred  to  above. 


LOUISIANA  PURCHASE   PROGRESS   MAPS.  5 

sissippi  River  and  it  tributaries  to  the  west,  or,  if  he  knew  of  such 
territory,  he  purposely  excluded  any  claim  to  it  for  France.  The 
western  boundary  of  the  original  Louisiana  is  therefore  traced  along 
the  summit  of  the  watershed  which  defines  the  drainage  basin  of  the 
Mississippi  in  that  region,  viz,  around  the  headwaters  both  of  the 
Red  River  and  the  Arkansas  with  their  tributaries,  and  the  Missouri 
River  with  all  of  its  great  tributaries  from  the  west  and  southwest  to 
the  present  northern  United  States  boundary. 

In  the  effort  made  to  locate  the  western  boundary  of  La  Salle's 
Louisiana  many  untenable  claims  have  been  put  forth  by  geographers. 
In  one  of  those  claims  the  province  was  carried  far  beyond  the  drainage 
basin  of  the  Mississippi  River;  in  fact,  across  the  Rocky  Mountains 
to  the  Pacific  coast  in  the  Northwest.  In  another,  it  is  assumed  that 
because  France  at  one  time  claimed  the  Gulf  coast  to  St.  Bernard 
(now  Matagorda)  Bay,  by  reason  of  La  Salle's  later  discoveries,  this 
territory  should  be  added  to  the  original  Louisiana.  A  third,  while 
rejecting  the  Pacific  coast  extension,  selected  the  Rio  Grande  as  the 
southwestern  boundary,  but,  lacking  in  courage  of  conviction,  pub 
lished  maps  restricting  the  limits  on  the  west  by  the  Spanish- American 
compromise  line  of  1819.  The  great  majority  of  geographers  now 
reject  the  Pacific  coast  extension,  but  there  remains  a  disposition  to 
include  the  Rio  Grande  country.  A  careful  study  of  available  his 
torical  data  reveals  claims  of  France  at  one  time  extending  only  to  the 
divide  between  the  Colorado  River  and  the  Rio  Grande  at  another 
time  to  the  Rio  Grande  itself  and  with  spiritual  jurisdiction  to  the 
Pacific  coast.  In  the  negotiations  with  France  for  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana,  Napoleon,  Talleyrand,  and  Marbois  admitted  great 
obscurity  as  to  boundaries  and  declared  their  inability  to  throw  any 
light  upon  the  subject.  The  negotiations  incident  to  the  treaty  of 
1819  and  the  maps  showing  the  claims 'of  the  United  States  and  Spain 
at  the  time  seem  to  show  that,  for  diplomatic  reasons  probably,  the 
United  States  claimed  the  territory  to  the  Rio  Grande.  Spain 
declared  this  claim  preposterous  and  fixed  the  equally  absurd  ninety- 
third  degree  of  longitude  as  her  eastern  a^nd  our  western  limit.  While 
the  compromise  line  was  not  agreed  to  as  fixing  the  western  limits  of 
the  Louisiana  purchase  from  France  by  the  United  States,  but  rather 
as  definitely  establishing  a  boundary  between  Spanish  and  American 
territory  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  it  is  perhaps  significant  that 
in  its  beginning  east  of  the  Texas  territory  in  question,  and  in  its 
course  northwesterly  to  the  forty-second  parallel,  this  boundary 
approximated  the  location  of  the  true  Louisiana  boundary  of  La  Salle. 
It  is  believed  the  claim  for  the  Rio  Grande  limit  is  untenable,  for  the 
several  reasons  that  the  southern  Texas  country  was  a  later  discovery, 
and  the  reasons  offered  for  its  union  with  Louisiana  are  unconvincing 
and  insufficient;  its  area  was  indefinite  and  its  boundaries  unknown; 


6  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE   PROGRESS   MAPS. 

it  was  never  made  a  part  of  La  Salle's  Louisiana;  doubt  as  to  Amer 
ican  title  was  strong  enough  to  insure  a  ready  acceptance  of  the  con 
tention  of  Spain  as  to  her  ownership  of  this  portion  of  the  Gulf  coast 
in  1819,  and  this  acceptance  was  in  marked  contrast  to  the  vigorous 
policy  pursued  in  the  Perdido  River  boundary  contention,  where 
American  ownership  by  virtue  of  the  " purchase"  was  declared  and 
maintained  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  is  room  for  but  one  interpretation  of  the  limits  of 
"Louisiana"  as  proclaimed  by  La  Salle.  It  is  the  line  defining  the 
drainage  basin  of  the  Mississippi  River  on  the  west,  and  this  line  is 
therefore  adopted  as  the  " Louisiana  Purchase"  boundary  through  the 
present  State  of  Texas.  No  available  fact  warrants  the  acceptance  of 
the  Spanish-American  boundary  of  1819,  established  16  years  after  the 
purchase  of  Louisiana,  as  the  boundary  of  this  territory. 

It  has  been  held  that  the  Province  of  Louisiana  as  proclaimed 
by  La  Salle  should  be  enlarged  on  the  north  by  the  addition  of  the 
territory  south  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel  and  west  of  the  head 
waters  of  the  Mississippi  River;-  that  is  to  say,  by  the  drainage  basin 
of  the  Red  River  of  the  North.  It  is  certain  that  this  territory  was 
not  in  La  Salle 's  Louisiana,  and  it  is  even  doubtful  that  it  ever  really 
belonged  to  France.  It  is  universally  conceded  that  the  powers 
signatory  to  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  in  1713,  in  the  belief  that  the 
headwaters  of  the  Mississippi  River  were  north  of  the  forty-ninth 
parallel,  intended  to  confirm  France  in  the  possession,  not  of  territory 
beyond  the  Mississippi  drainage,  but  of  Mississippi  Valley  territory 
which  was  proclaimed  " Louisiana"  by  La  Salle  31  years  before. 
But  French  ownership,  even  if  conceded,  by  virtue  of  the  treaty  of 
Utrecht,  would  be  unimportant,  for  such  concession  would  in  no 
degree  support  the  contention  that  the  Red  River  Basin  formed  a 
part  of  Louisiana.  All  of  the  French  territory  to  the  north  of  La 
Salle 's  Louisiana,  of  whatever  extent  east  or  west  of  the  Great  Lakes, 
was  transferred  to  Great  Britain  in  1763,  and  no  French  claim  to  any 
part  of  it  has  appeared  since  that  time. 

The  origin  of  American  title  to  the  district  north  and  west  of 
the  headwaters  of  the  Mississippi  River  and  south  of  the  forty-ninth 
parallel  may  be  found  in  the  treaties  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  of  1783  and  1817,  the  former  defining  territorial  limits 
at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  the  latter  fixing  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel  as  the  north  boundary  of  the  United  States  between 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  France  having 
parted  with  the  district  affected  by  these  treaties  long  prior  to  their 
negotiation  by  the  powers  interested,  was  wholly  indifferent  to  the 
transfers  of  the  territory  made  thereby.  The  drainage  basin  of 
the  Red  River  of  the  North  is  therefore  excluded  from  the  territory 
of  Louisiana  purchased  from  France  in  1803. 


.     LOUISIANA  PUKCHASE   PROGRESS   MAPS.  7 

Keferring  to  the  extension  of  the  south  boundary  of  the  original 
Louisiana  territory,  as  shown  on  the  map,  appeal  is  again  had  to  the 
proclamation  of  La  Salle,  who  said,  "And  also  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Palms."  This  river  was  located  with  some  difficulty.  The 
first  mention  of  it  was  found  in  a  large  volume  belonging  to  the 
records  of  the  Divisions  of  Private  Lands,  etc.,  General  Land  Office, 
entitled  "A  Complete  Historical,  Chronological,  and  Geographical 
American  Atlas,  etc.,  published  by  Carey  and  Lea,  Philadelphia, 
1822."  In  the  historical  data  descriptive  of  Florida  was  found  the 
record  of  a  grant  in  1526  to  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez  from  Charles  the 
Fifth,  "of  all  the  lands  from  Cape  Florida  to  the  river  Palmos  in  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.'7  This  river  appears  upon  the  map  of  Florida  in 
the  atlas,  but  it  is  not  named.  Cape  Florida  is  shown  upon  all 
modern  maps,  as  Well  as  ancient  publications,  but  appeal  to  maps 
published  early  in  the  last  century  was  necessary  to  locate  Palm 
River.  It  emptied  into  Palm  Sound,  now  called  Sarasota  Bay,  and 
the  southern  extremity  of  Palm  Island,  wliich  was  also  shown  on 
the  ancient  maps,  is  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  river.  This  island 
is  now  called  Sarasota  Key.  This  grant  of  land  by  Spain,  156  years 
before  La  Salle 's  voyage  down  the  Mississippi,  was  peculiar  in  that 
its  limits  were  defined  in  specific  terms.  It  is  here  noted  merely  as 
offering  a  reasonable  suggestion  for  the  action  of  La  Salle  in  choosing 
Palm  River  as  the  eastern  limit  of  Louisiana  on  the  Gulf  coast . 
The  fact  of  his  choice  is  unquestioned. 

Commercial  rights  over  this  original  Louisiana,  as  far  as  the 
Illinois,  for  a  period  of  10  years,  were  granted  by  Louis  XIV  to 
Antoine  de  Crozat,  September  14,  1712,  and  the  territory  itself  was 
ceded  to  Spain  by  treaty  of  November  3,  1762,  the  language  of  the 
treaty  being,  "the  whole  country  known  under  the  name  of  Louisana, 
together  with  New  Orleans  and  the  island  on  which  that  city  stands." 
This  was  the  first  transfer  relating  to  the  territory  of  Louisiana. 

TERRITORY   OF   LOUISIANA,  1762-1800  (MAP   NO.  2.) 

The  great  but  partially  temporary  shrinkage  in  area  of  the  ter 
ritory  of  Louisiana,  as  shown  by  map  No.  2,  was  caused,  not  by  any 
changes  in  description  of  the  territory  ceded  to  Spain  by  treaty  of 
November  3,  1762,  but  by  the  failure  of  France  to  deliver  to  Spain 
all  of  the  territory  described  in  that  treaty,  and  wTas  also  due  to  the 
cession  to  Great  Britain,  by  Spain  in  1763,  of  all  of  her  territory, 
undescribed  as  to  boundaries,  south  of  latitude  31°  and  east  of  the 
Mississippi  River. 

Four  months  after  the  cession  by  France  to  Spain  of  "the  whole 
territory  known  under  the  name  of  Louisiana,"  the  representatives 
of  France  and  Spain  and  of  Great  Britain  and  Portugal  met  at  Paris 
and  entered  into  a  treaty  apparently  intended  to  fix  more  definitely 


8  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE   PROGEESS   MAPS. 

the  boundaries  of  their  respective  possessions  in  North  America. 
The  attitude  of  Spain  during  these  negotiations  was  inexplicable. 
At  this  time  she  was  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  powers,  and  it  would 
be  idle  to  assume  that  her  diplomats  were  unaware  of  the  claim  of 
France  during  the  previous  80  years  to  that  part  of  Louisiana 
which  lay  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  especially  when  the  commercial 
grant  of  Louis  XIV  to  Crozat  with  its  transfer  to  the  Mississippi 
Co.,  28  and  32  years  before,  not  only  definitely  specified  this  territory, 
but  also  had  become  a  matter  of  wide-spread  knowledge  through 
the  tremendous  financial  crisis  and  panic  which  followed  the  opera 
tions  of  the  later  grantee.  It  can  only  be  assumed  that  Spanish 
reasons  of  state  or  the  exigencies  of  diplomacy  permitted  France 
to  cede  to  Great  Britain  the  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  north 
of  latitude  31°,  which  four  months  before  she  had  plainly  ceded  to 
Spain.  By  this  same  treaty  of  February-  10,  1763,  Spain  also  ceded 
to  Great  Britain  all  of  her  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi  River  and 
south  of  latitude  31°,  so  that  when  the  actual  delivery  of  Louisiana 
by  France  to  Spain  occurred  on  April  21,  1764,  the  territorial  bounda 
ries  were  as  shown  on  this  map.  Spain's  title  to  all  of  the  territory 
south  of  latitude  31°  at  this  time  was  undoubtedly  good;  for  to  her 
undisputed  title  to  that  part  of  Florida  which  was  obtained  through 
discovery  and  colonization  was  added  the  strip  of  original  Louisiana 
territory  between  the  Mississippi  River  and  the  river  Palms,  obtained 
by  the  treaty  of  November  3,  1762.  This  tract  is  left  uncolored 
upon  the  map,  the  same  as  the  northern  portions  of  the  alienated 
Louisiana  territory. 

TERRITORY   OF   LOUISIANA,  1800-1803  (MAP   No.  3.) 

As  indicated  upon  Map  No.  3,  the  boundaries  of  the  territory  of 
Louisiana  west  of  the  Mississippi  River  suffered  no  changes  between 
April  21,  1764,  the  date  of  delivery  to  Spain,  and  1800,  when  the 
retrocession  from  Spain  to  France  by  the  secret  treaty  of  San  Ilde- 
fonso  occurred.  Attention  is  directed  to  the  colored  area  of  the 
map  over  that  part  of  the  original  Louisiana  as  proclaimed  by  La 
Salle,  which  lies  south  of  latitude  31°  and  east  of  the  Mississippi 
River.  Twenty  years  after  the  treaty  of  Paris  of  February  10,  1763, 
in  the  settlement  of  boundaries  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  the  United  States  took  over  from  Great  Britain  all  that  part 
of  the  original  Louisiana  ceded  to  the  latter  by  France  in  1763,  viz, 
the  territory  of  Louisiana  east  of  the  Mississippi  River  and  north 
of  latitude  31°  N.  At  this  time  also,  September  3,  1783,  owing  to 
Spanish  claims  and  aggression,  Great  Britain  ceded  back  to  Spain, 
without  boundary  delimitations,  the  territory  south  of  latitude  31° 
and  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  which  the  former  had  received,  also 


LOUISIANA  PURCHASE   PROGRESS   MAPS.  9 

without  boundary  delimitations,  through  the  definitive  treaty  of 
1763.  It  should  be  remembered  here  that  that  part  of  this  territory 
shaded  in  agreement  with  the  rest  of  the  area  called  "Louisiana" 
formed  a  part  of  the  original  territory  of  Louisiana  proclaimed  by 
La  Salle  and  ceded  by  treaty  stipulation  to  Spain  in  1762. 

The  Government  and  people  of  the  United  States,  who,  in  1783, 
came  into  possession  of  that  part  of  the  original  Louisiana  ceded  by 
France  to  Great  Britain,  had  no  reason  to  question  the  validity  of 
the  cession  of  1763  by  France,  since  Spain  had  indorsed  it  and  approved 
it.  James  Madison,  Secretary  of  State,  in  a  letter  to  Robert  Liv 
ingston,  minister  to  France,  of  date  March  31,  1803,1  says  of  this 
cession : 

Spain  might  not  unfairly  be  considered  as  ceding  back  to  France  what  France  had 
ceded  to  her,  inasmuch  as  the  cession  of  it  to  Great  Britain  was  made  for  the  benefit  of 
Spain,  to  whom,  on  that  account,  Cuba  was  restored.  The  effect  was  precisely  the 
same  as  if  France  had,  in  form,  made  the  cession  to  Spain  and  Spain  had  assigned  it 
over  to  Great  Britain;  and  the  cession  may  the  more  aptly  be  considered  as  passing 
through  Spain,  as  Spain  herself  was  a  party  to  the  treaty  by  which  it  was  conveyed  to 
Great  Britain. 

Spain  obtained  title  from  France  to  "the  whole  of  Louisiana"  in 
1762,  and  was  therefore  in  position  to  cede  the  Gulf  coast  to  Great 
Britain  in  1763.  There  was  nothing  peculiar  in  the  retrocession  of 
this  tract  by  Great  Britain  to  Spain  in  1783;  nothing  apparent  to 
justify  the  contention  of  Spain,  following  the  retrocession  to  France 
in  1800  of  "the  colony  or  province  of  Louisiana  with  the  same  extent 
it  now  has  in  the  hands  of  Spain,  and  that  it  had  when  France  pos 
sessed  it,"  that  this  territory  belonged  to  and  formed  a  part  of  her 
original  possessions  in  Florida. 

By  secret  treaty,  known  as  the  "Treaty  of  San  Ildefonso,"  of 
October  1,  1800,  Spain  retroceded  to  France  "the  colony  or  province 
of  Louisiana  with  the  same  extent  it  now  has  in  the  hands  of  Spain, 
and  that  it  had  when  France  possessed  it,  and  such  as  it  should  be 
after  the  treaty  subsequently  entered  into  between  Spain  and  the 
other  states."  By  this  treaty  France  again  came  into  possession,  so 
far  as  Spanish  interests  were  concerned,  of  the  original  territory  of 
Louisiana;  but  the  same  was,  of  course,  shorn  of  the  large  area  east 
of  the  Mississippi  Kiver  and  north  of  latitude  31°,  which  for  17  years 
past  had  been  a  part  of  the  United  States.  This  retroceded  Louisiana 
undoubtedly  embraced  that  portion  of  the  original  territory  which 
lies  south  of  latitude  31°  and  east  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver,  whatever 
may  have  been  its  extent.  The  wording  of  the  treaty  of  San  Ilde 
fonso  precludes  any  other  view  than  that  of  retrocession,  and  the 
United  States  so  held  and  understood  it,  as  shown  by  acts  of  sover 
eignty  hereinafter  noted. 

Vol.  2  of  American  State  Papers,  Foreign  Relations,  p.  577. 


10  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE  PROGRESS  MAPS. 

TERRITORY  OF  LOUISIANA,  1803-1819  (MAP  No.  4.) 

Map  No.  4  shows  the  area  of  the  territory  of  Louisiana  as  purchased 
from  France  in  1803.  It  will  be  noted  that  no  change  in  the  boundary 
of  that  part  west  of  Mississippi  River  has  occurred  since  1762,  but 
that  the  area  of  the  tract  along  the  Gulf  coast  east  of  the  river  is 
materially  reduced. 

April  30,  1803,  France  ceded  to  the  United  States  the  territory  of 
Louisiana  "with  the  same  extent  that  it  now  has  in  the  hands  of 
Spain,  and  that  it  had  when  France  possessed  it,  and  such  as  it 
should  be  after  the  treaties  subsequently  entered  into  between  Spain 
and  other  States,"  using  the  identical  language  employed  in  the 
cession  to  France  by  Spain  in  1800,  but  adding:  "The  French 
Republic  has  an  incontestible  title  to  the  domain  and  to  the  posses 
sion  of  said  territory."  The  confinement  of  American  claims,  under 
the  treaty  of  1803,  to  the  area  west  of  the  Perdido  River  was  doubt 
less  due  to  the  fact  of  early  Spanish  settlement  at  Pensacola  Bay  and 
at  Fort  St.  Marks,  on  the  Appalachee  River,  and  to  the  common  mis 
understanding  of  the  real  rights  of  the  United  States  to  all  of  the 
territory  south  of  latitude  31°,  which  formed  a  part  of  the  original 
Louisiana  proclaimed  by  La  Salle.  The  first  settlements  in  this 
territory  were  made  by  French  colonists  in  1699,  but  17  years  after 
La  Salle's  proclamation,  and  there  can  be  no  shadow  of  doubt  that 
these  settlements  were  made  for  the  purpose  of  occupying  and  exploit 
ing  the  vast  domain  added  to  France  under  the  name  "Louisiana" 
through  the  courage  and  energy  of  the  great  explorer.  The  real 
meaning  and  significance  of  La  Salle's  claim  to  the  eastern  Gulf 
coast  as  far  as  Palm  River  seems  to  have  been  overlooked,  but  this 
can  not  be  said  of  that  portion  between  the  Perdido  River  and  the 
Mississippi  River.  While  Spanish  diplomacy  was  undoubtedly  aimed 
at  retaining  this  territory  at  the  time  of  the  retrocession  to  France, 
in  1800,  notwithstanding  the  unequivocal  wording  of  the  treaty  of 
San  Ildefonso  to  the  contrary,  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
refused  to  accept  any  such  boundary  delimitation  in  1803. 

February  24,  1804,  Congress  passed  an  act  for  laying  and  collecting 
duties  in  this  territory,  and  on  March  26  the  district  was  added  to  the 
new  Territory  of  Orleans.  In  October,  1810,  the  President,  by  procla 
mation,  directed  the  governor  of  Orleans  Territory  to  take  possession 
of  the  territory.  April  14,  1812,  a  part  of  these  lands  was  annexed  to 
Louisiana  territory,  and  one  month  later  the  remainder,  lying 
between  the  Pearl  and  Perdido  Rivers,  was  annexed  to  the  territory 
of  Mississippi.  March  3,  1817,  Congress  divided  this  tract,  giving 
approximately  half  of  it  to  the  Territory  of  Alabama.  Both  Missis 
sippi  and  Alabama  came  into  the  Union  before  the  treaty  with  Spain 
for  Florida  was  ratified,  Mississippi  the  year  before  the  treaty  was 
negotiated  and  Alabama  the  same  year,  but  two  years  before  ratifica- 


LOUISIANA  PURCHASE   PROGRESS   MAPS.  11 

tion.  During  this  period,  also,  the  United  States  made  a  census  of  the 
population  of  the  district.  These  citations  are  offered  for  the  pur 
pose  of  showing  that  this  Government,  in  its  sovereign  capacity  and 
through  both  its  lawmaking  and  executive  branches,  had  settled  and 
finally  disposed  of  all  questions  of  ownership  of  the  territory  between 
the  Mississippi  and  Perdido  Rivers  and  south  of  latitude  31°  which 
were  raised  by  Spain  after  the  purchase  from  France  in  1803,  and  prior 
to  the  Florida  treaty  of  1819.  The  fact  that  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  in  many  cases  has  supported  the  political  acts  of  the 
Government  relating  to  this  territory  is  of  passing  interest.  These 
decisions,  however,  can  have  no  direct  bearing  upon  questions  of 
title  affecting  the  territory  in  the  aggregate. 

TERRITORY   OF  LOUISIANA,  1819-1904  (MAP  NO.  5). 

Map  No.  5  shows  the  extent  of  the  " Louisiana  Purchase"  after  its 
boundaries  of  1803  had  been  modified  through  the  treaty  with  Spain 
ceding  Florida  to  the  United  States  and  fixing  the  boundary  between 
the  United  States  and  Spanish  possessions  west  of  the  Mississippi 
River  in  1819.  It  is  of  interest  because  the  American,  gains  and  losses 
by  that  treaty  are  shown  and  because  Spain  was  satisfied  to  fix  her 
most  northern  boundary  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  at  the  parallel 
of  42°  north.  This  western  United  States-Spanish  boundary  as 
finally  settled  was  later  accepted  as  the  boundary  between  the 
Republic  of  Mexico  and  the  United  States,  and  still  later  in  part  as 
the  northern  boundary  of  the  Republic  of  Texas.  It  will  be  noted 
that  two  small  tracts,  marked  "A,"  not  forming  a  part  of  La  Salle's 
Louisiana,  became  a  part  of  the  United  States,  and  that  two  tracts, 
marked  "B,"  of  much  larger  area  shown  upon  the  map,  which  are  a 
part  of  the  Mississippi  watershed  and  were  therefore  a  part  of  La  Salle's 
Louisiana,  were  surrendered  to  Spain  in  exchange. 

SUMMARY. 

1.  French  title  to  the  territory  called  " Louisiana"  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley  had  its  origin  and  was  based  upon  the  discovery  and  proclama 
tion  of  La  Salle,  April  9,  1682.  The  title  "  Louisiana,"  as  proclaimed 
by  La  Salle,  may  not  properly  be  applied  to  other  and  doubtful  French 
possessions  in  America,  and  since  French  ownership  of  territory 
beyond  the  watershed  line  at  the  time  of  the  purchase  is  a  matter  of 
grave  doubt  and  can  not  be  established,  La  Salle's  " Louisiana"  may 
not  properly  include  such  alleged  possessions.  The  Spanish  territory 
directly  drained  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  west  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
or  into  the  Gulf  of  California,  or  the  Spanish  and  Oregon  territory 
drained  into  the  Pacific  Ocean,  or  the  territory  drained  into  Hudson 
Bay,  nevor  belonged  to  France  by  virtue  of  La  Salle's  discovery  and 
proclamation  of  1682,  when  the  limits  of  Louisiana  were  defined  and 


12  LOUISIANA   PURCHASE   PROGRESS   MAPS. 

title  to  these  districts  was  neither  offered  nor  transferred  by  France 
to  the  United  States  in  the  sale  of  1803. 

2.  French  title  to  Gulf  territory  from  the  Mississippi  Kiver  to  Paim 
River,  on  the  Gulf  coast  of  Florida,  as  a  part  of  original  Louisiana, 
was  as  good  as  French  title  to  the  Mississippi  Valley,  for  both  districts 
came  under  the  French  flag  at  the  same  time  and  for  the  same  reason, 
viz,  the  discoveries  of  La  Salle  and  his  proclamation  based  thereon,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  River,  April  9,    1682.     It  therefore 
follows  that  subsequent  cessions  of  "the  whole  territory  known  under 
the  name  of  Louisiana,"  or  of  "the  colony  or  province  of  Louisiana, 
with  the  same  extent     *     *     *     that  it  had  when  France  possessed 
it,"  conveyed  title  to  this  territory  just  as  surely  as  they  conveyed 
title  to  territory  drained  by  the  Mississippi  River  and  its  tributaries, 
and  the  title  thus  conveyed  was  just  as  good. 

3.  The  Government  of  the  United  States  acted  strictly  within  its 
treaty  rights  when,  following  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  from  France 
in  1803,  it  occupied  the  territory  between  the  Mississippi  and  Perdido 
Rivers,  took  a  census  of  the  people,  levied  and  collected  taxes,  and 
finally,  prior  to  the  ratification  of  the  purchase  of  Florida,  divided 
the  tract  into  three  separate  parcels  and  added  one  each  to  the  States 
of  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  and  Alabama.     Map  No.  4,  therefore,  prop 
erly  exhibits   the  outboundaries  of  the  Louisiana  purchased  from 
France  in  1803,  and  asserted*  by  the  United  States  thereafter,  and 
Map  No.  5  shows  the  modifications  of  that  boundary  west  of  the 
Mississippi  River  agreed  to  in  the  treaty  with  Spain  in  1819. 

OTHER  CONTIGUOUS  ACQUISITIONS  (MAP  NO.  6). 

Map  No.  6  shows  in  addition  to  the  Louisiana  Purchase  boundaries 
the  boundaries  of  the  Texas  annexation  of  1845,  the  Oregon  Territory, 
title  to  which  was  settled  in  1846,  the  Mexican  cession  of  1848,  and  the 
Gadsden  Purchase  of  1853.  The  Department  of  the  Interior  and  the 
Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  by  letters  of  February  2,  1912, 
and  February  10,  1912,  respectively,  formally  accepted  these  bounda 
ries  and  the  areas  thereby  determined  for  use  in  all  publications  of 
the  several  bureaus  of  each  department.1  The  north  and  east 
boundaries  of  the  Texas  territory  are  identical  with  those  of  the  Texas 
Republic  which  conformed  to  the  compromise  boundary  between 
Spain  and  the  United  States,  established  by  treaty  of  1819.  The 
west  boundary  of  the  Texas  annexation  conforms  to  the  former  west- 

i  A  committee  representing  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Frank  Bond,  Chief  Clerk 
of  the  General  Land  Office,  and  S.  S.  Gannett,  geographer  of  the  Geological  Survey,  was  appointed  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Jan.  9, 1911;  and  a  committee,  representing  the  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor,  .consisting  of  Messrs.  O.  P.  Austin,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  and  C.  S.  Sloane,  geographer 
of  the  Bureau  of  the  Census,  was  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  Jan.  13. 1911.  These 
committees  were  instructed  to  mutually  confer  and  definitely  and  finally  decide  as  to  the  boundaries  and 
areas  of  the  several  acquisitions  and  of  the  States  created  therefrom.  Their  joint  report  was  signed  Jan.  26, 
1912,  and  the  same  was  approved  by  the  heads  of  the  respective  departments,  as  noted  above. 


. 


LOUISIANA   PURCHASE   PROGRESS   MAPS. 


ia 


ern  boundary  of  the  Texas  Republic.  The  common  boundary  along 
the  forty-second  parallel,  between  the  Mexican  cession  and  the 
Oregon  territory,  is  the  line  also  fixed  by  the  treaty  with  Spain  of  1819. 
The  eastern  boundary  of  the  Oregon  territory  conforms  to  the  western 
boundary  of  the  Louisiana  of  La  Salle  and  the  Louisiana  Purchase  of 
1803,  the  same  being  the  watershed  between  the  Mississippi  River 
drainage  and  the  drainage  toward  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Area  of  the  territory  of  the  original  13  States  and  of  the  successive  acquisitions  within  the 
continental  limits,  excepting  Alaska  and  Panama  Canal  Zone. 


Acquisitions. 

Area  of 
original 
acquisition. 

Net  area  after 
Louisiana 
delimitation, 
and  net  area 
of  United 
States. 

Territory  of  original  13  States  as  recognized  by  Great  Britain  in  1783,  includ 
ing  the  drainage  basin  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North  (46,253  square  miles).. 
Louisiana  Purchase  from  France  in  1803  

Square  mile  ft. 
892,  135 
924,  279 

13,435 

58,  666 

389,  166 
286,541 

529,  189 
29,670 

Square  miles. 
892,  135 
827,987 

13,435 

389,166 
286,541 

529,189 
29,670 

This  acquisition  suffered  loss  in  area  amounting  to  96,292  square  miles 
by  Spanish-American  boundary  delimitation  of  1819. 
Territory  gained  through  treaty  of  1819  with  Spain 

Florida  ceded  by  Spain  in  1819  

Texas,  annexed  in  1845,  includes  94,815  square  miles  of  original  Louisiana 
excluded  from  Louisiana  Purchase  by  treaty  of  1819  with  Spain 

Oregon  Territory,  American  title  established  in  1846 

Mexico,  ceded  in  1848,  includes  1,477  square  miles  of  original  Louisiana  ex 
cluded  from  Louisiana  Purchase  by  treaty  of  1819  with  Spain  

Gadsden  Purchase,  in  1853  

Total  

3,123,081 

3,026,789 

NONCONTIGUOUS  ACQUISITIONS  (MAP  NO.  7). 

Map  No.  7  shows  the  geodetic  location  and  approximate  configura 
tion  of  the  noncontiguous  acquisitions  of  the  United  States,  of  which 
only  Alaska  and  and  the  Panama  Canal  Zone  are  situated  upon  the 
continent,  properly  speaking,  Hawaii,  Porto  Rico,  the  Philippines, 
Guam,  and  Samoa  being  islands  of  the  sea.  Of  these  acquisitions, 
Alaska  was  purchased  from  Russia  in  1867,  the  location  of  the  United 
States-Canadian  boundary  thereof  being  finally  fixed  by  treaty  pro 
claimed  March  3,  1903.  The  Philippine  Islands,  Guam,  and  Porto 
Rico  were  acquired  as  indemnity  and  by  partial  purchase  from  Spain 
in  1898;  the  Hawaiian  Islands  were  annexed  in  1898,  and  the  Tutuila 
group  was  acquired  in  1899.  The  Panama  Canal  Zone  was  ceded  by 
the  Republic  of  Panama  in  1904. 

Areas  of  noncontiguous  acquisitions. 

Square  miles. 

Alaska .' 590,  884 

Guam 210 

Hawaii,  including  Palmyra  Island 6,  449 

Panama  Canal  Zone 43$ 

Philippine  Islands 115,  026 

Porto  Rico 3,  435. 

Tutuila  group,  Samoa 77 


Total 716,  517 


14 


LOUISIANA  PURCHASE   PROGRESS   MAPS. 


Grand    total   area   of   United   States,    including   all   acquisitions, 
3,743,306  square  miles,  or  2,395,715,840  acres. 

Area  of  States  and  District  of  Columbia. 

[These  areas  have  previously  been  used  by  the  Departments  of  the  Interior  and  Commerce  and  Labor 
and  their  several  bureaus,  being  based  upon  careful  joint  calculations  made  in  the  General  Land  Office, 
the  Geological  Survey,  and  the  Bureau  of  the  Census.] 


States  and  District  of 
Columbia. 

Land  surface. 

Water  surface. 

Total  areas. 

Alabama  

Sq.m. 
51,279 
113,810 
52,525 
155,  652 
103,658 
4,820 
1.965 
60 
54,861 
58,725 
83,354 
56,043 
36,045 
55,586 
81,  774 
40,  181 
45,409 
29,895 
9,941 
8,039 
57,480 
80.858 
46,362 
68,727 
146,201 
76,808 
109,821 
9,031 
7,514 
122,  503 
47,654 
48,  740 
70,183 
40,  740 
69,414 
95,607 
44,832 
1,067 
30,495 
76,868 
41,687 
262,398 
82,  184 
9,124 
40,262 
66,836 
24,022 
55,256 
97,  594 

Acres. 
32,818,560 
72,838,400 
33,616,000 
99,617,280 
66,341,120 
3,084,800 
1,257,600 
38,400 
35,111,040 
37,584,000 
53,346,560 
35,867,520 
23,068,800 
35,575,040 
52,335,360 
25,715,840 
29,061,760 
19,132,800 
6,362,240 
5,144,960 
36,787,200 
51,749,120 
29,671,680 
43,  985,  280 
93,568,640 
49,157,120 
70,  285,  440 
5,779,840 
4,808,960 
78,401,920 
30,498,560 
31,193,600 
44,917,120 
26,073,600 
44,424,960 
61,188,480 
28,  692,  480 
682,  880 
19,516,800 
49,195,520 
26,679,680 
167,934,720 
52,  597,  760 
5,839,360 
25,767,680 
42,775,040 
15,374,080 
35,363,840 
62,460,160 

Sq.  TO. 
719 
146 
810 
2,645 
290 
145 
405 
10 
3,805 
540 
534 
622 
309 
561 
384 
417 
3,097 
3,145 
2,386 
227 
500 
3,824 
503 
693 
796 
•       712 
869 
310 
710 
131 
1,550 
3,686 
654 
300 
643 
1,092 
294 
181 
494 
747 
335 
3,498 
2,806 
440 
2,365 
2,291 
148 
810 
320 

Acres. 
460,  160 
93,440 
518,  400 
1,692,800 
185,  600 
92,800 
259,200 
6,400 
2,  435,  200 
345,600 
341,760 
398,080 
197,  760 
359,040 
245,  760 
266,880 
1,982,080 
2,012,800 
1,527,040 
145,  280 
320,  000 
2,447,360 
321,  920 
443,  520 
509,  440 
455,  680 
556,  160 
198,  400 
454,400 
83,840 
992,000 
2,359,040 
418,  560 
192,000 
411,520 
698,880 
188,160 
115,840 
316,  160 
478,080 
214,400 
2,238,720 
1,795,840 
281,600 
1,513,600 
1,466,240 
94,720 
518,400 
204,800 

Sq.  m. 
51,998 
113,956 
53,335 
158,297 
103,948 
4,965 
2,370 
70 
58,666 
59,265 
83,888 
56,665 
36,  354 
56,147 
82,  158 
40,598 
48,506 
33,040 
12,327 
8,266 
57,980 
84,682 
46,865 
69,  420 
146,  997 
77,  520 
110,690 
9,341 
8,224 
122,  634 
49,204 
52,  426 
70,837 
41,040 
70,057 
96,699 
45,  126 
1,248 
30,989 
77,615 
42,022 
265,896 
84,  990 
9,564 
42,627 
69,  127 
24,  170 
56,066 
97,914 

Acres. 
33,278,720 
72,931,840 
34,134,400 
101,310,080 
66,526,720 
3,177,600 
1,516,800 
44,800 
37,546,240 
37,929,600 
53,688,320 
36,265,600 
23,266,560 
35,934,080 
52,581,120 
25,982,720 
31,043,840 
21,  145,  600 
7,889,280 
5,  290.  240 
37,107,200 
54,  196,  480 
29,993,600 
44,428,800 
94,078,080 
49,612,800 
70,841,600 
5,978,240 
5,263,360 
78,485,760 
31,490,560 
33,  552,  640 
45,335,680 
26,265,600 
44,836,480 
61,887,360 
28,880,640 
798,  720 
19,832,960 
49,673,600 
26,894,080 
170,173,440 
54,393,600 
6,  120.  960 
27,281,280 
44,241,280 
15,468,800 
35,882,240 
62,664,960 

Arizona        .          

Arkansas 

California  

Colorado  .  . 

Connecticut 

Delaware  .      .  . 

District  of  Columbia  
Florida  

Georgia.  . 

Idaho 

Illinois..   .                 ... 

Indiana 

Iowa  

Kansas 

Kentucky  

Louisiana  . 

Maine 

Maryland  

Massachusetts 

Michigan  

Minnesota 

Mississippi  .  .  . 

Missouri  

Montana 

Nebraska  

Nevada 

New  Hampshire  

New  Jersey  .   .             .      ... 

New  Mexico 

New  York  

North  Carolina 

North  Dakota  

Ohio 

Oklahoma  

Oregon    

Pennsylvania 

Rhode  Island  

South  Carolina  

South  Dakota 

Tennessee  

Texas 

Utah  

Vermont 

Virginia 

Washington    

West  Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming  

Total  

2,973,890 

1,  903,  289,  600 

52,899 

33,855,360 

3,026,789 

1,937,144,960 

Owing  to  their  location  adjoining  the  Great  Lakes,  the  States  enumerated  below  contain  approximately 
an  additional  number  of  square  miles  as  follows:  Illinois,  1,674  square  miles  of  Lake  Michigan;  Indiana, 
230  square  miles  of  Lake  Michigan;  Michigan,  16,653  square  miles  of  Lake  Superior,  12,922  square  miles 
of  Lake  Michigan,  9,925  square  miles  of  Lake  Huron,  and  460  square  miles  of  Lakes  St.  Clair  and  Erie; 
Minnesota,  2,514  square  miles  of  Lake  Superior;  New  York,  3,140  square  miles  of  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie; 

"" 


within  3  English  miles  of  her  coast;  Oregon  claims  jurisdiction  over  a  similar  strip  of  the  Pacific  Ocean 
I  marine  league  in  width  between  latitude  42°  north  and  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River;  and  Texas 
claims  jurisdiction  over  a  strip  of  Gulf  water  3  leagues  in  width,  adjacent  to  her  coast  and  between  the 
Rio  Grande  and  the  Sabine  River. 

O 


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'PLP 


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LD  21A-50m-8,'57 
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General  Library 

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